Ophthalmic mounting



June ill, 1940.

' s. E. BOUCHARD OPHTHALMIC MOUNTiNG Filed Sept. 56, 1939 SAMUELE.BQUCHARD INVENT R ATTORN S Patented June 11, 1940 UNITED STATES2,204,410 OPHTHALMIC MOUNTING Samuel E. Bouchard, Rochester, N. Y.,assignor to Bausch & Lomb Optical Company, Rochester, N. Y., acorporation of New York Application September 30, 1939, Serial No.297,396

3 Claims.

The present invention relates to ophthalmic mountings and moreparticularly to ophthalmic mountings for rimless eyeglasses.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide an ophthalmicmounting having relatively soft bendablestraps and a hard, stiff shoe. Afurther object is to provide a unitary ophthalmic mounting for rimlessspectacles in which the ends of the lens shoe will not bend away fromthe edge of the lens. Another object is to provide an ophthalmicmounting in which a hard, stiif shoe is soldered to a pair of lensstraps without a substantial reduction of hardness.

These and other objects and advantages reside in certain novel featuresof construction and combination of parts, as will hereinafter be morefully described and pointed out.

Referring to the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary front elevation of an ophthalmic mountingembodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the lens strap stamping.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation thereof.

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the lens shoe stamping.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation thereof.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the two stampings in assembled relation.

Fig. 8 is a section taken on line B-8 of Fig. 7.

The. steps involved in the making of my new lens connection areillutrated in the drawing wherein Iii designates generally a blank orstamping. The ends of the blank Ill form lens straps l2 and I3 which areconnected by a narrow neck ll. The-strap I2 is provided with a smoothhole 15 and a tapped hole It is formed in the strap 13.

A ridge or key l1 extends across the narrow neck .betweenthe straps l2and IS.

The shoe I8 is preferably stamped from a rod or wire and is formed witha transverse groove 19 in its rear surface corresponding in size andshape to the ridge or key I! on the surface of the neck I.

The shoe I8 is placed against the neck 14 between the straps I2 and 13so that the ridge ll engages in the groove l9 and, while in thisposition, the shoe l8 and blank l are soldered or welded together.

The straps l2 and 13 are then bent toward each other past the shoe It toengage the opposite surfaces of an ophthalmic lens illand the shoe I8 isbent or curved to conformed to the edge of the lens 20 as shown inFig. 1. A spectacle or eyeglass part such as the bridge 2| may besoldered or welded to the lens connection in the manner well known inthe art.

' The connection may be any suitable, manner. simplicity ofillustration, I have shown the connection secured to the lens 20 by ascrew 22 which passes through the hole 15 in the strap l2, through ahole drilled in the lens 20 and is threaded into the tapped hole IS inthe strap l3. Obviously, other securing means such as the molded rivetillustrated in my Patent No. 1,878,371 issued September 20, 1932, may beused.

It is essential that the lens straps of an ophthalmic mounting be softand bendable so that they can be made to conform to lenses of differentthickness. It is equally essential that the shoe be stiff and rigid soits ends will not bend and back away from the edge of the lens.

In order to incorporate these properties in my new mounting, the blankIll may be made in a suitable material such as nickel silver. This metalis easily worked and the heat of soldering so the shoe l8 to the blankIll anneals it leaving it freely bendable.

The shoe it, which must remain still, is made of a metal having ahighannealing or recrystallization temperature, that is, a metal which will25 -not lose any substantial hardness of stiffness when it is soldered.A number of metals meet this requirement. The alloy known as Inconel.which contains 78% to 80% of nickel, 12% to 14% of chromium and from 6%to 8% of iron, the chromium-nickel alloys known as "Chromel" andNichrome, the hardenable nickel known as "Z-nickel and some of theaustenitic stainless steels are satisfactory. Both the shoe l8 and blankin are preferably made from gold-fllledss stock or they may be platedwith a precious, noncorroding metal.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that I am able to attain theobjects of my invention and provide a new and improved lens connection40 in' which the straps are freely bendable while the shoe is stiff andrigid. Various modifications of structure and manner of making as wellas suitable changes of material can be made without departing from thespirit of my invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An ophthalmic mounting for rimless spectacles comprising strap meansfor engaging a surface of an ophthalmic lens, said strap means having aneck portion overlying the edge of the lens, a shoe member for engagingthe edge of the lens, said shoe member being heat joined to said neckportion, said shoe member being formed of a metal having a relativelyhigh re- 5;

secured to the lens 20 in For convenience and crystallizationtemperature whereby the metal will not lose any susbtantial amount ofhardness or stifiness by the application of the heat necessary to unitethe shoe member to said neck portion, said strap means being formed-of ametal which is annealed by the heat of the joining operation whereby thestrap means may be bent for adjustment.

2. An ophthalmic mounting for spectacles comprising two straps forengaging opposite surfaces of an ophthalmic lens, a neck portionconnecting said straps, and a shoe member for engaging the edge of thelens, said shoe member being heat joined to said neck portion, said shoebeing formed of a metal having a relatively high recrystallizationtemperature whereby the metal will not lose any substantial hardness orstiffness by the application of the heat necessary to unite the shoe tothe neck'portion, said straps and neck portion being formed of a metalwhich is annealed by the heat of the joining operation whereby thestraps may be adjusted.

3. An ophthalmic mounting for spectacles comprising a pair of straps forengaging, respectively, the opposite faces of an ophthalmic lens, a neckportion connecting said straps, said neck portion having a centrallylocated recess, a shoe member for engaging the edge of the lens, saidmember being positioned in said recess and soldered to said neckportion, said member being formed of a metal having a relatively highrecrystallization temperature whereby the shoe member will not lose anysubstantial amount of hardness or stiffness when subjected to the heatrequired for soldering, the straps and neck portion being formed of ametal which is annealed by the heat of the soldering operation wherebythe straps may be bent for adjustment.

SAlVIUEL E. BOUCHARD.

